Sogang News

Research Team Led by Prof. Kang Tae Wook Developed Method that is 100 Times More Efficient in the Production of Materials for Cancer Therapy

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sogpr

Date

2017-03-28

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222

Research Team Led by Prof. Kang Tae Wook Developed Method that is 100 Times More Efficient in the Production of Materials for Cancer Therapy

A research team led by Prof. Kang Tae Wook at Sogang University has developed a process for efficiently producing non-toxic nano artificial cells. This material is expected to act as the next generation medical material for the treatment of major diseases, such as cancer. Thanks to the development of this technique, the purity was enhanced by 100 times when compared to the conventional method, while the cost for medical materials can now be drastically lowered. The outcome of research was posted in the December 16th issue of Science Advances, an affiliated journal of the world-renowned Scientific Journal.

Prof. Kang Tae Wook said, “We have solved the problem of bio toxicity, the biggest obstacle in the efforts to utilize the existing inorganic nanoparticles as next generation bio-medical materials, and we have developed a technology to boost purity without the need for a separate purification process, which would otherwise increase costs for medical materials.” He also talked about the meaning of research, stating, “It is expected that the nano artificial cell will be broadly utilized in the early diagnosis of diseases like cancer and for more accurate treatment.”

The research was supported by the Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning and the National Research Foundation of Korea’s Individual Basic Research Program.

□ Title & Author(s) of Paper

- Title: General and programmable synthesis of hybrid liposome/metal nanoparticles

□ The nano artificial cells developed by Prof. Kang’s research team hold the advantages of solving bio toxicity for existing inorganic nano materials and enhancing purity without the need for a separate purification process. Based on these points, the cost of medical materials can be drastically lowered, and the technology is expected to be broadly utilized in disease diagnosis and treatment.

□ For instance, the heat generated when a laser beam is irradiated to a nano material can be used for photo thermal therapy to decimate cancer cells, meaning the efficiency is boosted. In addition, it can also be utilized as a contrast medium that illustrates the cancer cell using nanospectroscopy.

□ In addition, it can be used for the existing liposome-based drug delivery method, allowing for efficient utilization of drug delivery.